We back entrepreneurs building African tech champions

Babacar is the founder & managing partner of Askya Investment Partners, an investment firm building generational tech and AI companies from Africa.

Babacar has extensive experience as investor and operator, having backed 17 startups and returned over $120m in profits to investors, including one IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. Since 2015, Babacar supported the development of the African startup ecosystem as CEO of Digital Africa and Founding Member of Proparco's $300m VC Program, backing iconic startups such as Moniepoint, Jumia and Complete Farmer, and anchoring multiple VC fund managers.

Prior to becoming an investor, Babacar served as Advisor to the Chairman and CEO of AXA, one of the world's largest firms, where he played a key role in the group's digital transformation & partnerships and its emerging markets expansion, in addition to spearheading billion-dollar strategic initiatives. He also served as director on the board of leading financial institutions and investment firms, including Bank of Africa, Lok Capital, Disruptech and Ventures Platform.

Based in Dakar, Senegal, Aminata Ndoye is an investment associate at Askya Investment Partners. She is deeply committed to investing in and supporting African startups that create meaningful impact on people's lives, as Aminata firmly believes these enterprises are the driving force behind growth and socio-economic transformation across the continent.

Prior to joining Askya, she worked at Partech, gaining experience in both the Paris and Dakar offices as part of the Partech Africa Investment team. During her time there, she played a key role in conducting in-depth investment and market analysis and contributed to the creation of the 2024 Partech Africa Report, a comprehensive industry report that highlights key trends and insights within the African tech ecosystem. Her work involved evaluating potential investments across Africa and conducting research to shape strategic recommendations for Partech Africa's investment decisions.

Before transitioning into the Venture Capital industry, Aminata gained extensive experience as an Investment Banker at Lazard and Santander. During her time in investment banking, she was involved in executing complex financial transactions, across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, conducting detailed market analysis, and advising clients on mergers, acquisitions, and capital raising. This experience sharpened her financial skills and strategic thinking, which she now applies to her work in venture capital.

Aminata holds a Master's degree in Finance and Strategy, as well as an undergraduate degree in Social Sciences with a major in Economics, both from Sciences Po Paris. In her free time, she enjoys spending time along the West African coast, traveling, and exploring new cultures.

Based in Lagos, Nigeria, Emeka Ajene has a decade of diverse experience across Africa's startup ecosystem as a founder, operator, advisor, angel investor, mentor, and speaker.

He co-founded Francophone Africa focused, mobility-led super app Gozem (operational in Togo, Benin, Gabon, & Cameroon) and led the first phase of the business as Managing Director/CEO through the company's Series A fundraise. Prior to Gozem, he was second-in-command to the Country Manager for Nigeria at global ride-hailing platform Uber.

Currently, Emeka acts as a trusted advisor to Africa-focused decision-makers at consulting firm Africreate and he leads Africa-focused business media & intelligence platform Afridigest.

Earlier in his career, Emeka worked in Citigroup's M&A investment banking division in New York City and taught mathematics at Phillips Academy, the renowned college-preparatory school in Andover, Massachusetts. He holds a bachelor's degree in mathematical economics from Morehouse College and dual JD and MBA degrees from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Vincent Eke is an ESG professional and a Masters degree holder in International Management and Sustainability from Sciences Po, Paris. He is driven by a mission to support the growth of responsible business practices in emerging markets by leveraging ESG principles that create value for both businesses and the society at large.

Before leaving for Paris, Vincent had worked as a research analyst at the sustainability center of Lagos Business School where he designed capacity building programmes for nonprofit and social enterprises in Africa, contributed to the school's United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education (UN PRME) report and collaborated with the END fund through a case study to stimulate timely government action in combatting Neglected Tropical Diseases in Nigeria. This experience made him more enthusiastic about sustainability and influenced subsequent career steps.

Since moving to Paris, he has worked with Schneider Electric as a student sustainability consultant helping to design a circular business model to address e-waste problems in a refugee camp in Chad republic, Central Africa. Based on this work, he and his team received the 'prix du public, enterprise et développement durable' from 'la Fondation Croissance Responsable'. He also worked as a project management analyst at REN 21, designing and delivering monthly webinars, 'RENdezvous Africa', aimed at sharing knowledge on the roles of renewable energy in Africa's socio-economic development.

With finance as a recurring theme in his experiences in Paris, he decided to explore this sector from an ESG and impact perspective. Through opportunities at Allianz Group and PAI Partners focused on ESG, impact and investor relations, he was able to better understand the transformative nature of sustainable finance on businesses and societies in Europe and globally. He is keen on utilising and adapting these experiences to steer businesses in emerging markets on a path of positive transformation.

Vincent obtained his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Lagos in Nigeria. He cares about philanthropy and sports.